After missing out on the playoffs completely a season ago, the Dallas Mavericks return to the playoffs as a worthy opponent.
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks will enjoy some well-earned rest while awaiting their latest playoff series opener against the Los Angeles Clippers, as the NBA Play-In Tournament begins to narrow down the championship. Dew.
Dallas finished the 2023-2024 regular season with a record of 50 wins and 32 losses, good for fifth place in a loaded Western Conference, but missed the playoffs entirely and sparked outrage over apparent tanking in the preseason. It was far from how it ended. For positioning the draft.
Here, a year later, Dallas' stunning finish left them one game short of stealing the No. 4 seed and home court from the Clippers on the final day of the season. The Mavericks have come a long way since last spring. And despite being left for dead at many points during the campaign, he also made huge strides in the season itself.
The offseason's transformation from question mark to legitimate contender can be traced back to some gambles the front office took in an effort to maximize the roster around an all-world superstar.
Irving finds his home
After re-signing with Dallas in the summer, Kyrie Irving averaged 25.6 points per game in his 13th NBA season with a nearly 50/40/90 percentage. He quietly had one of the best seasons of his storied career, with field goal percentage (49.7%), three-point percentage (41.1%), and free throw percentage (90.5%) above career averages. .
Kyrie not only showed dedication on the court and had a regular season worthy of the Comeback Player of the Year award, but he also showed dedication as a team leader and a team leader alongside backcourt mate Luka. He built chemistry with Doncic. Jalen Brunson leaves the team.
After a false start last season after being traded to Dallas, the Mavs entered this year seen as trapped in a doomed marriage with Irving, but they're motivated to change that perception. They entered the playoffs with the best backcourt in the entire league.
Front office available
On a whimper at the end of the 2022-2023 season, Dallas had the good fortune to release Davis Bertans and replace him with 20-year-old Duke center Derek Lively II. It was a tight squeeze. If Dallas had won one more game last season, he would have been lost.
For all the embarrassment about tanking Doncic in his prime, Lively arrived and established himself as the starting center relatively quickly, giving Doncic and Irving a coveted rim-running lob target. provided. Lively finished the season with the highest field goal percentage (74.7%) in NBA history.
At the other end of the offseason force, Dante Exum and Derrick Jones Jr., who were signed to minimum contracts, quickly become more than bits of the bench rotation, contributing athleticism, 3-point shooting, and defense above their cap numbers. did. Wide margin.
With defensive issues remaining in the frontcourt, Dallas separately acquired Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington ahead of the trade deadline, not only improving the depth and quality of their roster but also improving their long-term prospects. Added an impressive young core.
What looked like an expensive and ineffective roster centered around Doncic and Irving was rebuilt on the fly, adding two 25-year-olds in Gafford and Washington. Both loan players are signed through 2026 at team-friendly cap numbers, with Exum signed through 2025.
slow climb
Dallas was plagued by injuries early in the season and struggled in December and January. It was no surprise that the Mavs' worst two months came while Irving was out injured. When the All-Star guard returned to the lineup in early February, an injection of energy at the trade deadline helped the team finish the month 8-2 on its way to its best stretch of the season.
Still, Dallas had some room to recover as their playoff chances fell to eighth in the Western Conference, and they remained in that position going into March and staying there until March 16th.
As North Texas began to move on from its mild winters, Dallas saw the seasons come together. Dallas, who finished the final full month of the regular season with an 11-4 record, jumped past New Orleans, Sacramento and Phoenix to avoid the play-in crapshoot and moved into fifth place by the end of the month, leading the Southwest Division. won the title.
Doncic attempts record
Luka Doncic's ascent into his sixth NBA season could end with the first Maverick player to win the MVP trophy since Dirk Nowitzki. It may take an uprising of voters to wrest the award from two-time champion Nikola Jokic, but Doncic enjoyed one of the best regular seasons in NBA history.
Doncic became the first Maverick to lead the league in scoring (33.9 PPG), was second in the league in assists (9.8), averaged nearly 10 rebounds per game (9.2), and contributed defensively. showed a significant improvement. He achieved 21 triple-doubles during the season and had a high score of 73.
The 2023-2024 season was the next evolution for Doncic, the next step for a player who is already the best player on any court and continues to improve.
Doncic probably won't win the Michael Jordan Trophy for MVP, but his crazy season shouldn't be allowed to become normalized or taken for granted. Doncic will have the burden of leading the best team he's had since his time in Dallas and leading them deep into the playoffs, which will be the talk of the national media.
Do you think the Mavericks had a successful season regardless of the final result? Share your thoughts with Irvin on Twitter @Twittirv.
More Dallas Mavericks coverage:
